Liberty pulled off a huge win on the road, defeating Lipscomb 74-66 on Wednesday night and snapping the Bisons’ 19-game winning streak in the ASUN Conference.
The Flames (22-5, 11-1 ASUN) are now tied with Lipscomb (20-5, 11-1 ASUN) for first place in the conference.
After shooting 37 percent in the first meeting against Lipscomb back at the Vines Center on Jan. 29, Liberty found its shooting stroke at Allen Arena, hitting 49 percent for the game (26-53). While the Flames were efficient on offense, their defense held Lipscomb to just 36.8 percent shooting (21-57) for the game. Liberty trailed 47-24 at halftime during the first meeting between these two teams earlier this year, but Liberty was able to flip the script on the Bisons by taking a 38-27 lead into the break tonight.
The Flames were able extend their lead all the way up to 16 points (45-29) with 18:20 left in the game. Lipscomb would storm back to cut it to 64-62 with 1:30 left in the game. However, as soon as Lipscomb cut the lead to two points, Darius McGhee came up with a huge three-pointer to make it a two-score game with 75 seconds left.
Liberty’s defense would lock up to hold onto the lead and pull out the victory. The Flames were clutch from the free throw line, converting 7-8 during the final two minutes of the game.
“I am a little emotional because that was a hard-fought and our guys really battled,” Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said. “The way we lost to them last time was so bad and that was deflating to our guys. I knew this was going to be hard and we were tough mentally and physically. We got contributions from everyone and I am really proud of their effort and about the win.”
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